Oswald Cobblepot (Arkhamverse)
Oswald's descent into crime began in his grandfather's time, when Henry Cobblepot opened a hotel chain to compete against the one owned by one Judge Solomon Wayne. The Wayne family hotel chain was, however, very successful while the Cobblepot chain was not. This did not stop Stanley Cobblepot, Oswald's father, from sinking the family fortune into the hotel chain until the family was bankrupt. Oswald himself was attending boarding school in England, where he was mocked for his short size and homely, hunched-over appearance. He took to skipping class to go hang around criminals and, in doing so, picked up quite a colorful education. When he came back to Gotham City, he was penniless and nursing a grudge against the Wayne family, despite it being his own father's folly that lost the family fortune. As Oswald secured a foothold in the illegal arms trade, he acquired a freighter from pirates, rechristened it The Final Offer, and converted it into his headquarters, incorporating a weapons store, a casino, and a gladiatorial arena to keep his men entertained. As a means to legally insulate himself from his crimes, Oswald rarely left the ship, dealing primarily through intermediaries, who began referring to him the Penguin. Turf wars with Roman Sionis and Carmine Falcone soon followed, but Oswald eventually gained an edge over them through his ruthlessness. He eventually concocted an insidious scheme to get various gangs under his control, offer the gangbangers military grade weaponry for free on Christmas Eve. However, the weapons contained hidden technologies that ensured that the buyers would be loyal to him. Oswald initially believed Batman to be a myth, but was convinced otherwise after a 50 million dollar bounty was placed on Batman by a mysterious new player. Oswald was contacted by one of the would be assassins, Electrocutioner, and lured Batman to the Final Offer so that Batman and Electrocutioner could fight in his arena. Though Batman easily beat Electrocutioner, a second assassin, Deathstroke, ambushed the proceedings. When it became apparent that Batman would defeat Deathstroke, Oswald and his associates fled to an unknown location. Later, Oswald formed an alliance with Mister Freeze, providing manpower for Freeze's vendetta against Ferris Boyle in exchange for access to Freeze's weapons and armor technology. Though Oswald doublecrosses Freeze in an attempt to extort a better deal, this backfires, as Freeze encases him in a block of ice. He is subsequently arrested by the Gotham police, though his knowledge of legal loopholes ensures that he spends little, if any, time behind bars. Using his knowledge of the criminal world and his own savvy, Oswald established several successful businesses on both sides of the law, and then opened the Iceberg Lounge to try to establish himself as a member of high society. He has a grudge against the Joker ever since the Joker sprayed a waitress in the face with acid for spilling a drink on him, and maintains his vendetta against Wayne family by directing it at Bruce. The Iceberg Lounge is where many of the Penguin's illicit deals happened--he financially ruined a young Victor Zsasz by cheating at cards and, one night, he caught a man cheating the house and ordered him tortured in front of the crowd as an example. A friend of the victim picked up a glass liquor bottle and shoved the broken bottle into the Penguin's face, giving him an appearance of always wearing a twisted monocle. Because it was set into the bone all around his eye, no doctor will attempt to remove it because of the probably fatal results of doing so. The Penguin decided he does not mind it too much. Much of the Bowery is owned by the Penguin, and he politically and financially resisted the Arkham City project. This worked well, up until he lost his temper. He ordered his guards to shoot at police officers attempting to evict him, killing three of them. Now publicly a criminal, he was put into Arkham City--but Professor Hugo Strange made a deal with the Penguin, to supply him with weapons and equipment if the Penguin offers the occasional assistance. He is a major antagonist of Arkham City, and wars for control of the prison against Two-Face and the Joker. He is based in the Pinkney Museum. The Penguin makes his first appearance trying to hit Bruce Wayne with some brass knuckles and earns a broken hand for his trouble. Later, he captures Mister Freeze and takes the scientist's Freeze Gun and uses it in his fight against Batman. When he is bested, Freeze exacts some revenge and then imprisons the Penguin in one of his own display cases, while his turf and gang is mostly absorbed by Two-Face. | Powers = | Abilities = * : Penguin is a genius in the fact his able to hide his illegal actions for years after appearing as a reformed criminal. According to Batman's file, cunning and paranoia has allowed Penguin to avoid being seen conducting his illegal business deals. Upon first opening his black market deals, Penguin sold guns on his ship The Final Offer because selling the firearms on U.S. soil is illegal; off U.S. soil, it's 100% legal. To allows make sure he's on top, Penguin goes by the motto "I only take the best", and that goes for everything for thugs, weapons, and even assassins. * : Even when his business is trapped in the super prison Arkham City, Penguin still finds a way to make it thrive. * ** * : Penguin is a crack shot with his umbrella gun. He can even fire it one-handed short distances. Batman: Arkham City A hidden blade is in the handle of the umbrella. | Weaknesses = * | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = *'Penguin's Umbrella' *'Brass Knuckles' *'Rocket Launcher' *'Mister Freeze's Cold Gun' | Notes = * Penguin was voiced by Nolan North. | Trivia = | Recommended = | Wikipedia = | Links = }} Category:2009 Character Debuts Category:Arkham Asylum inmates Category:Nightwing villains